<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/09/rfk-jr-mississippi-rollback-school-vaccine-rules>
"When a federal judge in Mississippi ordered a sweeping rollback of the state’s
strict school vaccine rules in 2023, the ruling hit some doctors like “a gut
punch”.
Mississippi had for years achieved some of the highest vaccination rates in the
US for children – a point of pride in a place that consistently ranks at the
bottom of other health measures.
The state health director warned of the dire possible consequences, including a
comeback of preventable illnesses like measles, diphtheria and pertussis –
known as whooping cough.
“None of these diseases are gone,” Dr Daniel Edney told a talk radio host as
the state implemented the newly ordered rules. “They’ve not been eradicated.
They’re just waiting. They’re lurking.”
The doctor’s warnings were prescient.
Whooping cough surged in Mississippi last year, ultimately claiming the life of
a baby – the first whooping cough death in the state in 13 years. Incidents of
parents opting out of vaccinations for religious reasons – a choice introduced
in the wake of Judge Sul Ozerden’s 2023 ruling – have also surged. Kindergarten
vaccination rates this year dropped to the lowest level in years.
The campaign to change the rules in Mississippi – and to use that victory to
make change across the nation – was years in the making, orchestrated in part
by two men with close ties to the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr: Del
Bigtree of the Texas-based Informed Consent Action Network, or Ican, and Ican’s
lawyer, Aaron Siri.
A
Guardian investigation has found the relationships among the three involve
hundreds of thousands of dollars and benefits to Kennedy, Bigtree and Siri. As
Mississippi doctors, health officials and families deal with the consequences
of weaker vaccine policies, the
Guardian found, Ican has used its Mississippi
victory – what Bigtree called “arguably the biggest win for health freedom in
history” – to raise money to expand its push to weaken vaccine laws around the
country."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
